Many people have been working from home due to
the pandemic, but only certain people will qualify to claim the home office
deduction. This deduction allows qualifying you to deduct certain home expenses
on their tax return when they file their 2021 tax return next year.
The most important thing to note is that
employees are not eligible to claim the home office deduction. This
applies to ALL employees (including S corporation owners who also serve as
employees of those companies). If you are an owner of an S-Corp read the
section on accountability plans below.
The term “home” for purposes of this
deduction:
1.
Includes a house,
apartment, condominium, mobile home, boat or similar property which provide
basic living accommodations.
2.
Any portion of a home
used exclusively as a hotel, motel, inn or similar establishment does NOT
qualify as a “home” and, therefore, does not qualify for a home office
deduction.
Generally, there are two basic requirements for
the taxpayer’s home to qualify as a deduction:
1.
There
must be exclusive use of a portion of the home for conducting business on a
regular basis. For example, a
taxpayer who uses an extra room to run their business can take a home office
deduction only for that extra room so long as it is used both regularly and
exclusively in the business.
2.
The
home must be the taxpayer’s principal place of business. A taxpayer can also meet this requirement
if administrative or management activities are conducted at the home and there
is no other location to perform these duties. Therefore, someone who conducts
business outside of their home but also uses their home to conduct business may
still qualify for a home office deduction.
3.
A portion of a home that
is used exclusively for conducting business on a regular basis but not used as
the principal place of business, will qualify for a home office deduction if
either patients, clients or customers are met in the home or there
is a separate structure that is used exclusively for conducting business on a
regular basis.
Taxpayers who qualify may choose one of two
methods to calculate their home office expense deduction
1.
Using the simplified method consisting of a rate of
$5 per square foot for business use of the home which is limited to a maximum
size of 300 square feet and a maximum deduction $1,500.
2.
Using the regular method
whereby deductions for a home office are based on the percentage of the home
devoted to business use. Any use a whole room or part of a room for conducting
their business will involve figuring out the percentage of the home used for
business activities to deduct indirect expenses. Direct expenses include There
are certain expenses taxpayers can deduct. They include mortgage interest,
insurance, utilities, repairs, maintenance, depreciation and rent.
The good news for S corporation owner-employees
is that, by implementing an “Accountable Plan” a (a reimbursement program which
meets certain IRS regulations), S Corporation owner-employees can continue to
deduct business expenses that they pay for personally by “passing” them along
to the business.
Essentially, an Accountable Plan is an
IRS-approved reimbursement program that allows a business to reimburse
employees for business expenses they incur as part of their work. The business
is then able to deduct those reimbursed amounts as if the business had incurred
the initial expense, itself. When using an Accountable Plan, reimbursements for
business expenses are not considered compensation to employees thus, don’t
increase payroll taxes due on wages or an employee’s income tax liability.
There are three simple guidelines an Accountable
Plan must follow to be considered valid:
1.
all expenses to be
reimbursed through the plan must have a business connection.
2.
expenses must be “timely
substantiated,” and
3.
any excess advances
provided to the employee must be “timely repaid.” While the actual definition
of “timely” is somewhat ambiguous, the IRS has provided several “safe harbor”
options.
Since Accountable Plans are so simple to
establish, and since they offer such flexible rules around to whom they can
apply, and to which expenses they will cover, there is generally no reason for
most S Corporations not to implement them.
Despite their simplicity, though, business
owners should understand that if the IRS does not deem their plan in compliance
with the Accountable Plan rules, their plan will be treated instead as a
“Non-Accountable Plan”. In such instances, any reimbursements will be added the
employee’s wages. Even though employee wages reduce gross business revenue,
that reduction is offset by the increase in wages. And to top it off, the
impact of higher FICA taxes as a result of those wages means that the total tax
liability will be higher than if the expense hadn’t been reimbursed in the
first place!
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